Once Before
by Calenhisiel Greenleaf
Summary: Prequel to Just Like My Dream, tho am coming up with a new title- tells the whole story of how Legolas came to be, and how she met Legolas. It also explains her relationship with Sorator, and how he went crazi...well, not realli, but im trying. R
1. Sorator

Chapter 1  
  
The boy was only 15 years of age, which is barely equivalent to a 5 year old child for that of a human. He was not human, but prince of the Ancients, a very noble race, believed to have created the entire Middle- Earth. He was special, though, as he was only half Ancient. The other half of him contained the spirit of an elf, which came from his mother. He was the most unique in his tribe, as he was the only half of... just about anything.  
  
His name was Sorator, and as said before, he was the prince of the Ancients. He was a very impulsive character when need be, but it was usually when he cared strongly for something or someone's well-being, which wasn't a bad thing...when he didn't lose his temper. When he did.....well, that's another story.  
  
It was going to be his 16th birthday in about a couple weeks, which was when the Princess was to be born. Two families divided the kingdom's rule; therefore, the new Princess and Sorator were not related. He knew he would be receiving something special on his birthday, but he had no idea it would be something as special as her.  
  
You see, she was more like the Chosen One. There was a prophecy that the first girl in the royal family, or at least one of them, was given an anklet and a pendant identical to her image. She had to harness its powers at a certain age, or, the village would come to an end. It wasn't planned like this...it nearly happened with one girl of the family, which is a long story. The only problem was that the anklet was always lost, and someone had to find it before it was too late.  
  
"Mother," said Sorator, his bright blue eyes looking at her dark green ones. One of the only traits they had that matched each others was their dark, long hair, flowing down to the smalls of their backs.  
  
"Yes, dear?" she said in a serene voice. Her name was Alqua, and she was the only Elf that resided within the village. She was a lucky one, as she was the first elf to live within the borders of their world, and she already resided in the royal family. She was found wounded by Amerial, one of the present Kings, and he took her into his care. It's the basic generic love story- they fell in love, and then they had Sorator. That is why he is considered special.  
  
"What are we going to do for my birthday?" His birthday always bought joy to his heart, as he would always see someone happy, which always pleased him.  
  
"We have something special for you."  
  
"What is it, mamma?"  
  
She didn't want to give away the secret, but she could see that she was anxious. So instead she changed the subject. "How about you go fishing with your father today? See what kind of fish you can catch today."  
  
Sorator loved the idea. Even though he knew that his mother was averting his attention to something else, fishing had always been his favorite activity. "Really?" he said ecstatically. "You mean it?"  
  
"Of course I do. I'll go get your father."  
  
As soon as she said this, a tall and slender man walked behind her and kissed her cheek. He was about 3 inches taller than she was, with the same length of dark, sleek hair, which was tied into half a ponytail. "And how are we doing today, my swan?" he whispered in her ear. This public display of affection made Sorator roll his eyes and laugh. Grown ups...  
  
"Actually, I have a favor to ask you. Do you think you can take our son fishing today?"  
  
He looked to his son, who was waiting for the little display of affection to end. Amerial only chuckled. "Don't worry Sorator, we're done," he laughed.  
  
"Good," he smiled. Then his eyes met his fathers. "Can we?"  
  
"If you can be ready in.... lets say... ten minutes?"  
  
"I'll be ready in five!"  
  
"Well then you better hurry up, little prince, or all the fish will be in my belly." They both laughed, then Sorator ran to his room faster than Amerial could blink.  
  
Alqua looked loving into her husband's eyes. "So, how is Lady Iris doing?" she asked. Iris, also known as Irisial, was the mother of the unborn child.  
  
"I checked on her some time ago. She and Odahin are faring well. In fact, they may be expecting the baby sooner than expected...." He just stared into her eyes, leaning in for a kiss, when he interrupted the atmosphere with "Or not!" He smirked, and Alqua laughed and kissed him anyway.  
  
"Well, whenever she comes, I'm sure she will be perfect for our little boy-"  
  
"What will be perfect for me?" Sorator interrupted. He had his rod, and his father's as well, along with the bait ready in hand.  
  
"Wow, Sorator," said his father, "That barely took two minutes."  
  
"What can I say? I love fishing. Are you ready?"  
  
Alqua looked at her son, then at her husband. "Well, what are you waiting for? He's ready for you."  
  
"Okay, Sorator. Let's go." Sorator jumped for joy. He knew that today was going to be special.  
  
They sat in the boat for about an hour. They already had a bucket full of fish, of many different colors and shapes. He asked his father to stay longer, for he knew that something special would come out of it.  
  
"My boy, I thing we should turn our rods for the day. We caught enough fish to last us a month."  
  
"No, wait, just one more catch, then we go home."  
  
"Okay, if that's the way you want it." He started packing his things, while Sorator waited, staring at the water. Suddenly, he saw something that caught his eye.  
  
Just another fish, he thought. He searched around for something else, but then he noticed that it lingered around their boat. It's awfully colorful though. Wonder what kind it was?" He reached his hand in the water, forgetting about the rod that was sitting in the boat, and he noticed that the fish changed colors. Wow, I want a fish like that. He didn't realize until moments later that it had basically placed itself in his hand.  
  
When he pulled it out, the fish looked just your average shade of gray. Nothing special about this one, he thought, but then he saw it shimmer like a rainbow. he also saw a golden bead stuck in it's mouth. Sorator looked into the water to see if he could see any more. To his luck, he could see a string of golden beads at the bottom, hardly touched, and hardly moved for that matter. He took the bead out of the fish's mouth and whispered to it "Now go bring me those in the bottom."  
  
He honestly didn't expect it to listen to him- it was a fish, what could it do? But he was still a child, and part of him still believed that the animals could understand them, almost like a human child believes in the tooth fairy or leprechauns. He looked in the water as he released the fish, and then averted his eyes to his father who was ready to go.  
  
"You just about ready?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess..." he trailed off as he looked into the water. To his surprise, he could see the fish with his head out of the water with something in his mouth. It was the string with the beads on it, just like Sorator asked. "Thank you," he whispered. "Father, I'm ready to go now."  
  
Somehow, he had found what he was looking for, even though he wasn't looking for anything. 


	2. The Perfect Name

Chapter 2  
  
Three weeks later...  
  
"Mother, who is she?" he asked as he looked at the child. She had been born a couple hours ago, but she already looked like she was at least 3 weeks old.  
  
"She is a member of the other royal family. They wanted you to name her," said Alqua.  
  
"Me? Name her? But what am I supposed to name her?"  
  
"Anything you want. It's your choice."  
  
Sorator didn't know what to say. He hadn't known that she was supposed to be born, and he already had to name her. He didn't even know that the other royal family was expecting a baby. He was greatly confused, long story short.  
  
He took a look at the baby, and she smiled at him. It was the first smile she had given to anyone, considering that she wasn't even a day old. She held out her hand, waiting for him to grab it, and he did and smiled. "Is this the surprise you were keeping from me?" he said softly.  
  
Alqua nodded. "Why, you don't like her?"  
  
"No. She's perfect."  
  
It had been two years since the girl was born, and she was already walking and talking regularly. She was still not given a name, but Sorator would always answer for her. There was not a day that she wasn't without her "brother" Sorator, who showed her around the city. The townspeople loved her; in fact, there was not a person who showed any sigh of dislike towards her. There was a certain aura about her that appealed to the people, but the Kings and Queens, also known as the Elders for short, grew very impatient, at least all but Alqua.  
  
They had expected for Sorator to find a name for the child by now, but he still could not think of one. One day, Alqua went to talk to him about this situation. She fel like the rest of the Elders would go mad if the girl had not been given a name.  
  
Sorator was sitting by himself while the girl had been taking her afternoon nap. He knew about the Elders being upset at him, so he sat away in the garden by the palace. His mother knew where to find him; he would always go to the same place when he was upset. "Sorator, come back in the palace. The Princess wakes soon, and I'm sure she wishes to see you."  
  
"I can't go back in there," he said sadly, "the elders could put some kind of curse on me."  
  
"You still couldn't find a name for her, could you?"  
  
He sat in silence for a moment. Then he said, "Why did they have to put such a responsibility on me? They know I can't handle a task like this."  
  
"This is why they asked you to name her. You, of all people, have proven that you can handle something like this."  
  
"Name one great thing I did within the past year." he hoped for her to hesitate so he could prove her wrong.  
  
She knew what he was trying to get her to do, but she had the perfect thing to counter it. "You found a royal heirloom that, for some reason, always seems to get lost."  
  
Sorator was confused. "And what might that be?"  
  
"The golden anklet, or at least the beads to it- the string is always being replaced," she smirked.  
  
"Are you referring to that fishing trip with father?"  
  
"I suppose I am," she smiled.  
  
"That was only a fluke. Some stupid fish found it for me."  
  
"I already know about the rainbow fish." Sorator was shocked when he heard this.  
  
"How did you know that?"  
  
"You have to remember, your mom is an Elf. When need be, I can read deep into your soul." Sorator looked at her like she was a mad woman. She had this sort of cocky smile on her face that almost scared the wits out of him.  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"That...and your father told me what happened."  
  
"Oooooh.... ok.... wait, can you really read into people's souls?"  
  
"Not to the point where I can read their minds. I was only teasing you." They both laughed.  
  
Just then, the little girl ran to Sorator, and started crying. That was probably the first time he saw her cry, but he didn't know whether it would be the last. "What's the matter, sweetie?" asked Alqua.  
  
"I...h-ha-had a n-n-night ma-ma-mare..!" she cried. Sorator rubbed her back for her to calm down.  
  
"Tell your brother all about it." They were so close that they called him her brother.  
  
"I think I'll let you talk to her, Sorator," said Alqua, before she made her exit.  
  
She was still crying in Sorator's lap, while Sorator was still rubbing her back. "Shhhhhhhh. Tell big brother what happened," he whispered.  
  
She started to calm down, and finally lifted her head from Sorator's lap. He sat on the ground beside her, and put her on his lap. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Then she started to talk clearly. "There was this ugly goblin thingy, and he started to attack people, and the people were dying, and I was real scared."  
  
This made Sorator think. What's a two-year-old girl doing dreaming about goblins and death? "Is that all of it?"  
  
"No. You were still alive, but you were about to get shot, and this Elf with bright colored hair came and saved me. Then there was a big 'splosion, and everything disappeared."  
  
"There was an Elf in your dream?" He seemed surprised to hear about the Elf, seeing as how he only saw one in his life. Other than his mother, who was high-elven, he thought that wood-elves were nothing but urban myths. But then again, he was still young.  
  
"Uh-Huh. And he saved your life and everything. It was just all crazy. The place was on fire and people were dying..." she trailed off into tears again.  
  
"Shhhhhh," he said to her softly. "It's gonna be okay. It was nothing but a bad dream. They don't come true."  
  
Pretty soon, she stopped crying, and just lay there in her big brother's arms. She seemed to be in deep thought, which was unusual for a two year old. "Do you think those kind of elves exist?" she asked him.  
  
"I don't know. I have heard of them in stories when I was younger, but the only one I actually saw was my mom, but she looks like the people here. O well, who knows? I have seen different things."  
  
"Like what?" She want from thinking to interested, as she sat up to look at him.  
  
He sat trying to remember what he saw. "I remember seeing a dwarf here some years ago when I was maybe ten.... I think his name was Gimli or something like that. Pretty interesting person if you ask me."  
  
"Well, maybe there might be that kind of Elf in Middle-Earth. Who knows? Maybe there may be some other kind of creature out there." Then she laid her head on Sorator's stomach to look up at the night sky- they didn't notice it was night until the Princess pointed up to the stars.  
  
Now it was Sorator who was in deep thought. I think I got the perfect name for her, he thought to himself. "Do you feel better?"  
  
"Yeah." She was still pointing at the stars in the sky.  
  
"Good," he said. Then he sat up, making her sit up as well. "What do you think of Armena as your name?" She smiled when she heard this. 


	3. Uninvietd Guest

A/N: I didn't have the energy to type this in my other fics or chapters, so I'll say it now. I do not own any of Tolkien's works, nor do I own Legolas, though I don't think he's in this chapter yet. I do own Armena, Sorator, Alqua, Odahin, Amerial, and Irisial.  
  
A/N2: I know I might have two Elvish languages in here. I'm going to fix that as soon as possible, but not now. I have a headache.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Armena. I want you to meet me in the garden by your room... tonight....midnight. It is of utmost importance.  
  
Now Armena was three years of age, though she showed more signs of maturity than the average Ancient, which was quite odd. Sorator still stuck by her every step of the way.  
  
"Big brother! Big brother!" she called as she ran towards him. Sorator was near a small creek staring into the water.  
  
"Yes?" he said serenely, as he smiled.  
  
"I had another dream!" She wasn't crying, but she did seem startled.  
  
In fact, these dreams went on for quite some time. She was greatly confused, as all of them had the mysterious Elf in them, apparently trying to save her life. Sometimes, her dreams became repetitive, as she would see the same explosion over and over and over again.  
  
"You did? What was it about?"  
  
"It had that Elf in it. He asked me to come to see him at midnight."  
  
"Where?" Sorator was getting worried. "Did you tell Iris about this?"  
  
She nodded, then said, "She just said that it was nothing but a dream and not to worry about it." Then she led him to the garden, only to find no one there.  
  
There is no one here, thought Sorator. He looked to Armena, who was still shaking of fright. "How about you tell my mother. She's an Elf, she'll understand."  
  
"Ummm.... okay." She seemed a little bit calmer when she said this.  
  
"Mother!" he called. His mother had very good hearing, so she instantly came to see what was troubling the two of them. "What's the matter, my dear?" she asked.  
  
"She saw an Elf in her dreams again. It's got her spooked!" Alqua already knew about this because Sorator told her about them. he didn't know what to tell Armena because he couldn't tell if they were actually real.  
  
"What did it look like?" She already knew but she wanted to hear from Armena.  
  
"He was tall, and he had light colored hair."  
  
"Did you hear a name in your dreams?"  
  
"Uh-uh. He knew how to fight though." Then she looked at her 'aunt' Alqua. "Are there such things as light-haired Elves?"  
  
Alqua had to think about that for a second. She had seen things better, and worse, than Elves. "Actually, there is another kind of Elf in Middle-Earth. They are called Wood-Elves, and they fit that description," she said. "They are usually peaceful creatures, and I don't think you need to fear him."  
  
Armena said no more. She just looked around in the garden, half expecting someone to come in and say hi, or attack, or something. All these dreams started to scare the wits out of her. "Can I just go back inside?" she asked her aunt.  
  
"Of course." Alqua escorted both Sorator and Armena to the palace.  
  
It had been a decade later. Armena was thirteen, and Sorator was twenty-nine. They would go through the same thing everyday, as she would still have the same dreams about the mysterious Elf, but that past decade was not wasted on the horrors of her dreams. They would also enjoy the comforts of home, like Sorator's favorite sport in the world- fishing. He taught her how to fish and eventually, she became better than him in it. He didn't seem to care though- he was just happy to see his 'little sister' actually happy.  
  
She also became aware of the magnificent cities around her, and the people that inhabited them. Even though she was well aware that they existed, she had never seen them first hand. She had heard tales about the fall of Gil-Galad and Isildur, and the tale of the One Ring, which was destroyed on Sorator's 5th birthday. She made it her business to know about the nine of the company of the Ring, and she remembered the name Gimli, whom Sorator had met some years before. She became fascinated in those characters, and wanted to meet them personally, but almost found it impossible.  
  
One day, they were playing a game of hide and seek in the woods. It was Armena's turn to hide, and Sorator's turn to seek. She had taken this time to go deeper into the woods. As she ran, she noticed a giant willow in the distance, towering over all the other trees. It didn't bother her to see it. Just a really big tree is all. Nothing so big about it. But as she ran, she could hear something rustling in the bushes nearby. It isn't Sorator, she thought to herself. He doesn't know how to sneak like that. "Who's there?" She got no answer.  
  
Instead, she forgot about the game at hand, and went to see what it was. She could hear it again, only softer. She could even hear a groan come from them. That's unusual. There's no animal that makes a sound like that. She asked again. "Is anyone there?"  
  
Just then, a creature, almost human-like, jumped out. He looked like he was fatigued, and had a broken ankle for that matter. There were many bruises on his otherwise perfect face. He had long blonde hair, almost to the small of his back, tied in the same fashion of Alqua. Armena looked at his deep blue eyes- even they showed signs of fatigue, and anxiety. "Who are you and how did you get here?" she asked him. She was not frightened, for she saw that he could cause her no harm- he wasn't in any state to do so. His identity never occurred to her.  
  
"Where am I?" he said, breathlessly.  
  
"You are at my home," she said. "Come, you need to be treated."  
  
"No, I should go back to my own in Mirkwood."  
  
"You are in no shape to leave here. Mirkwood is many miles away. You'll never make it. You'll stay with us tonight." She picked him up, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and walked towards the castle.  
  
"What is your name?" he asked. He was in the girl's bed.  
  
She looked over to him while she was tending to him. "I am Armena. Where did you say you were from again?"  
  
"Mirkwood."  
  
"Who are you? And how did you get here?"  
  
"I was attacked, by orcs, I think. When I came to, I was here." He turned his head towards her. "I am Legolas Greenleaf, Elvin Prince of Mirkwood."  
  
"Legolas Greenleaf, huh?" Where have I heard that name before? "Didn't you travel with the company of the ring some years ago?" The Elf nodded. She smiled gleefully.  
  
"My apologies, mellon nîn, but I really must be getting back to my home now."  
  
"You didn't hear a word I said, did you? You are in no shape to battle- what does 'melon neen mean?"  
  
"It means 'My friend', in my native tongue."  
  
"Well, mister Elvin Prince of Mirkwood, do you think you can stand about four weeks in this palace?" she said mockingly.  
  
Legolas only laughed. "I think I can manage. Are there any Elves here?"  
  
"Only one- my "brother's" mother, Alqua. She is one of the Elders of this village, and I could grant you an audience, If you like."  
  
"Nay, my lady. That will be fine."  
  
"Very well then. I will have the healers come to tend to that ankle. From the looks of it, if you put any weight on it, it will snap right off, but then again, I don't know much. I'm only thirteen."  
  
"Thirteen? I could have sworn you were older."  
  
"So could my family. When I was only two, I started having dreams of this big explosion, and everyone died, except for me and Sorator-"  
  
"Sorator?"  
  
"Yeah. He's my big brother, though we aren't really related. Let me just say he's just like a big brother."  
  
"O.... Well, what about these dreams? You say you dreamt about death when you were only two?"  
  
"Yeah. My village was in total chaos. The only thing out of the ordinary, besides the fact that the village was destroyed was.... an Elf...." she trailed off, and slowly looked at the injured Elf. It finally occurred to her that it looked exactly like the one in her dreams. "You!"  
  
Legolas was confused. "Mani? What did I do?"  
  
"It was you. You were in my dream!" That was all she said when she ran out of the room screaming, "Alqua! Alqua!"  
  
I don't understand, thought Legolas. I have done nothing to upset, nor do I intend to. I haven't been in this village long enough to even start anything!  
  
  
  
So does any one want to review? 


End file.
